Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai pose with delegates during the UK-China Economic Financial Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China December 16, 2017. REUTERS/Fred Dufour/Pool
December 16, 2017
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) – British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Saturday it is likely Britain will want to negotiate a bespoke arrangement for a future trade deal with the European Union, rather than copying existing arrangements like the Canada-EU deal.
The European Union agreed on Friday to move Brexit talks onto trade and a transition pact but some leaders cautioned that the final year of divorce negotiations before Britain’s exit could be fraught with peril.
Summit chair Donald Tusk said the world’s biggest trading bloc would begin “exploratory contacts” with Britain on what London wants in a future trade relationship, as well as starting discussion on the immediate post-Brexit transition.
Speaking in Beijing, Hammond it …